Move (Somehow)
by luvsanime02
Summary: Dorothy gives Wufei some much-needed advice.


**Disclaimer:** I don't own Gundam Wing, and am making no money off of this fic.

**AN:** Written for the April 5th Cocktail Party prompt: "Well, well, well… I thought I smelled gin and regret".

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**Move (Somehow)** by luvsanime02

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Dorothy walks into the bar, spots her target, and then saunters on over. "Well, well, well," she says, "I thought I smelled gin and regret."

"I don't suppose you're going to go away anytime soon," Wufei says, his voice flat and uninterested. Dorothy would almost take offense, except that this is just how Wufei's sounded for the past couple of days. Not that Dorothy's been paying attention, but Relena has, and if Dorothy has to hear her best friend worry about this man for much longer, she's going to start stabbing people again.

She never should have stopped doing that, really. People always pay more attention to your opinion when you're holding them at swordpoint.

"I'm not planning on leaving until you stop moping," Dorothy announces, sitting down on the bar stool next to Wufei and flicking her hand at the bartender in order to get his attention. A quick gesture at Wufei's drink to announce that she wants the same, and a sharp smile silently daring the man to take longer than a minute to mix it for her, and then Dorothy turns her attention back to Wufei.

He's watching the whole production with an amused glint in his eyes, which is more emotion than Dorothy honestly expected from him right now. "So, whether or not you leave me alone is all on me, then," he says dryly.

Dorothy nods, flicking her hair over her shoulder and watching as the bartender returns with her drink in no time at all. Smart of him. She's planning on leaving a big tip.

"So, are we celebrating?" she asks, raising her glass and waiting for Wufei to clink his own against hers.

"The end of my career?" Wufei asks, but he does push their glasses together before gulping more of his gin and tonic down. She wonders how many he's had already, but Dorothy's not here to babysit him. She's here to make him get over himself.

Deliberately rolling her eyes, Dorothy pointedly sips from her own drink. "Please," she scoffs, "who says this is the end?"

Wufei shoots her a very expressive sardonic expression. He's quite talented at those. "The fact that I was fired for not falsifying evidence?" he replies.

The thing is, Dorothy is enjoying this new world and the union of the Earth Sphere greatly. But that doesn't mean everything's perfect just yet. In fact, nothing will ever be perfect. Just because it's better than before doesn't mean that everything's going well. Case in point: Wufei getting fired on some trumped-up charges from a career that he really loves, and all because he wouldn't follow his superior officer's illegal orders.

Dorothy would have done exactly the same thing, except she would have celebrated after being fired, not sat around moping.

She shrugs. "So?" she asks rhetorically. "Go do something else now." Wufei opens his mouth, and Dorothy gives him a quelling look. He shuts his lips and raises an eyebrow, waiting. "You're intelligent and talented, Wufei," she continues, "and sure, this job was the first thing that felt secure to you since the end of the war." Dorothy takes another sip from her drink and looks him in the eyes. "Now, go find something else. You're strong enough to keep looking, Wufei. Quit whining and go do something."

Her piece said, Dorothy waits to hear his rebuttal. She gets silence instead, and mentally breathes a sigh of relief. A Wufei who is being stubborn just because he can would be here all night, which means that Dorothy would be stuck here, too. Seems like he's really thinking over what she said, though. That's good.

"I have no idea what I want to do anymore," Wufei admits softly.

Dorothy smiles. "So start looking," she advises. "You'll never find something new if you don't _search for it_, Wufei."

Dorothy slowly finishes her drink while Wufei thinks that over. Eventually, both of their glasses are empty, and rather than order another one, Wufei leaves some money on the bar. Dorothy pays for her own drink, plus the tip, and is relieved that Wufei can walk straight when he stands up. Good, she doesn't have to follow him home, then.

"Thank you," Wufei says when they leave the bar, carefully not looking in her direction. It's almost cute.

"You can buy me dinner sometime next week in return," she offers, because she knows that Wufei hates being in someone else's debt.

Wufei's smile is small and fleeting, but real. "That sounds acceptable," he agrees, and then nodding his head goodbye to her, Wufei turns and walks away.

Dorothy drives back home feeling content in a job well done, and maybe a little bit more hopeful for the future now.


End file.
